No Fight's Over Until I've Won
by Elbereth in April
Summary: A/U. King Vegeta sends his son, Kakkarot, and their friends to Earth in an attempt to hide them from Frieza. Complications arise when Kakkarot falls in love with Chi-Chi and Vegeta is kidnapped. *COMPLETE*
1. Default Chapter

No Fight's Over Until I've Won  
  
By Elbereth in April, Copyright 2002  
  
I do not own Dragonball Z and I can give up my obsession at any time. (Well, the 1st part's true). I do own my character, Thenore.   
  
Reviews give me the energy to keep writing.  
  
This is an alternate universe fic. As such, the personalities of the characters are not going to be exactly the same. They have grown up in totally different environments than in the show. Vegeta has never met Frieza yet, and Kakkarot has lived all his life on Vegeta-sei. Keep that in mind.   
____________ _______________  
  
"And so," Frieza said over the ship's intercom, "I shall expect your son to be delivered to me within the week, to seal the bargain."  
  
'Some bargain,' King Vegeta thought, but didn't let his thoughts show. "Very well."  
  
He signed off and turned to his advisor, the only other person in the throne room. "What do I do, Bardock? I can't give him my son. But I don't see what choice I have. He'll destroy the whole planet."  
  
"Well, my lord. You know he's never actually seen your son."  
  
The King's eyes grew wide. "You suggest I send in a double? An imposter?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
King Vegeta thought, his brow furrowed. "He'll find out eventually."  
  
"But we'll have the time we need to prepare, to ready the army. And in the meantime, you can ship your son off somewhere safe."  
  
"Yes! Somewhere--unremarkable. Far away." They looked at each other. "Very well. Bring me Nappa--he'll need some bodyguards. And your two sons, of course--and their other friend with such a high power level, Thenore."  
  
Prince Vegeta hadn't liked the idea, but he went. So, of course, did the others.   
  
Somewhere backward, where the people were unaware of aliens, and Frieza--so no one would be looking for them. Somewhere far away.  
  
They landed on Earth in the middle of nowhere, and camped out in the wilderness for awhile--about six months. In that time, they didn't dare do anything that might disturb Vegeta. He was brooding on his father, and the king's plan, and Frieza's possible wrath. Even on his 17th birthday they kept their distance. Except for Kakkarot, of course.  
  
Kakkarot and Vegeta had grown up together, and although most of the time Vegeta claimed Kakkarot drove him crazy with his simple-minded ways, they were so close that they'd made themselves blood brothers many years ago. They were always sparring or laughing at each other--but if anybody else tried to hurt one of them, the other would most certainly kill that person. And Radditz, of course, as Kakkarot's brother, was closer to Vegeta than most other people. Nappa was more his father's age, but he had been the Prince's bodyguard since he was a baby. And Thenore, always witty and elegant, with perfect manners, until one got her in the sparring ring, where she would use every ounce of power, every perfectly executed martial arts attack and strategy...and every dirty trick she knew to bring her opponent down.  
  
Thenore was known to say, "One fights to win," and "No fight is over until I've won," which Vegeta had heard, grinned over, and written on a little banner which he hung on the wall in the Royal Sparring Ring. It was hanging now on the tree they used to mark the boundary of their sparring grounds here.  
  
So life went on: hunting, eating, sparring, sleeping, living...for six months, until Vegeta's 17th birthday. Then Kakkarot woke him up, grinning, and said, "Guess what. I know something you're going to like."  
  
Earlier, on Vegeta's orders, Radditz and Thenore had gone out scouting, and found out there was a little competition going on not too many miles away.  
  
"It's a martial arts tournament," Kakkarot reported. "Let's enter!"  
  
The five Saiyans looked at each other, smiling.   
__________ _________ __________  
  
"These Earthlings are weaklings," Radditz complained, as they watched from the sidelines after entering themselves in the tournament.  
  
"We'd better hold back our power so we don't attract too much attention," Vegeta ordered. "We don't want to give Frieza any reason to check out this planet."  
  
"Ah, but that's no fun."  
  
"I know, I know," Vegeta sighed. "But that's the way it has to be. Discipline."  
  
"Discipline," they all repeated together, with long faces.  
  
"Oh cheer up, it's better than nothing," Kakkarot laughed.  
  
"When you look at it from an--an Earthling standard, they have some pretty good fighters. For Earthlings."  
  
"There's a female one!" Thenore pointed, perking up. She always enjoyed seeing a fellow woman beating up on males.  
  
Radditz punched her shoulder, lightly, good-naturedly.  
  
But Kakkarot was staring at the girl.  
  
Long black hair, slim, fit, pretty face--he was entranced. "Next up," proclaimed the announcer, "we have Chi-Chi...fighting Cliff, the rock, the warrior, and last year's champion!"  
  
"Chi-Chi," Kakkarot whispered.  
  
It was fun watching her take him down--champion, or not. She swirled gracefully, dancing around the huge man, avoiding his hits. She kicked him twice in the stomach, punched him in the face, and kicked him some more. He fell over like--well, like a rock.  
  
The Saiyans all cheered.  
  
Kakkarot snuck away from them during the next round and approached the girl.  
  
"Hi. That was a great fight!"  
  
She was daintily wiping her face with a towel. "Oh. Thanks!" She looked him over, noticing his banked strength, his muscled body...and smiled in a coy, flirtatious way, without even meaning to.  
  
He flushed and preened a bit, without noticing he was doing so. "Um, I'm Kakkarot. You're Chi-Chi, right?"  
  
"Right. Do you fight soon?"  
  
"Not for a few more rounds."  
  
"I'm going to the main house for a drink. Do you want to come?" She threw the towel in a bin marked dirty laundry.  
  
"Sure!" he grinned, and they headed off.  
  
It was about 18 minutes before Vegeta found them there, drinking Gator-ade and laughing. The Prince was not happy.  
  
"You're missing Nappa fight," he said, scowling, coming up to their table. He ignored Chi-Chi completely.  
  
Kakkarot flushed, and scowled back. "So are you."  
  
"Come on." It wasn't a request, it was an order. Kakkarot knew when to back down.  
  
"Yeah." He stood up, pushing his chair back overly hard, but otherwise not daring to protest. "Chi-Chi, I'll see you later on, OK?"  
  
"Who is he?" Chi-Chi asked flatly, eyebrows raised. She did not otherwise acknowledge Vegeta's presence.  
  
"My best friend. Vegeta." He tried to lighten things up. "Wait'll you see him fight!"  
  
Being called Kakkarot's best friend had Vegeta feeling slightly guilty or-- something. "Sorry to pull him away so abruptly and all, but his brother's fighting next," he said to Chi-Chi.  
  
She mellowed somewhat at this. "Well. Have fun. I'll be back out there soon."   
  
Kakkarot grinned at her, and then Vegeta pulled him away and out of the building.  
  
As they walked back to the ring, Kakkarot tried to decide if he should complain, but Vegeta started talking first. "Don't wander off like that, Kakkarot. We have to stay together. We don't know this planet well enough yet."  
  
Then Kakkarot felt shamed. "Sorry," he mumbled.  
  
"And what were you doing with that girl?"  
  
At that Kakkarot's head came up, and the spark was back in his eyes. "I like her!"  
  
"She's an Earthling! Flirt if you want, but no more! Don't forget who you are--and where we're going back to as soon as this whole mess is over!"  
  
Kakkarot's soul rebelled as he remembered the girl's dark eyes--but what could he say to that? He was a Saiyan-and he, too, was hoping and praying that the King could gather an army strong enough to beat Frieza--soon.  
_____________  
  
A/N: Don't worry you're going to get a lot more detail. There's a whole lot more coming. 


	2. 

No Fight's Over Until I've Won Ch 2  
By Elbereth in April  
  
  
The Saiyans all made the finals, of course. Radditz beat Chi-Chi, much to her disgust, but she wasn't surprised after she had watched them fight. It was the most incredible thing she'd ever seen.  
  
She had drifted over to their side of the stadium, not without some misgiving about what about what she was getting into.  
  
"Are these your friends, Kakkarot?" she asked, appearing beside him.  
  
"Hey, Chi-Chi! Um, yeah." He introduced them all around. "And..." inane grin "...you've already met Vegeta."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Brief pause. "Which one of you do you think will win?"  
  
He gave another embarrassed-looking grin. Radditz answered for him. "Oh it'll come down to Vegeta and Kakkarot. It always does."  
  
"Yeah, try not to kill each other," Nappa laughed.  
  
Nappa beat Radditz, Kakkarot beat Thenore, Vegeta beat Nappa.  
  
As predicted, it was down to the two of them.  
  
They faced each other across the ring. "Begin!" the announcer shouted.  
  
They just kept staring. Then Vegeta smirked. "All right. I'll start this time."  
  
He moved so fast he almost seemed to just appear in front of Kakkarot. He attempted a flurry of punches. Kakkarot managed to block them all but one, then responded by kneeing him in the stomach. Vegeta shrugged it aside as if it was nothing. He feinted another punch, but when Kakkarot went to block this time, Vegeta kicked him in the head.   
  
They were both smirking, feeling more alive then they had in a long time.  
  
They traded a few more blows, then they looked at each other. "Forget discipline," they said almost in unison.  
  
"Kame...hame..."  
  
"Final flash!"  
  
"Ha!"  
  
The crowd screamed as the whole arena seemed to explode. Chi-chi clutched Thenore's arm in fear.  
  
But Thenore was laughing. "No fair! You wouldn't let us do that!" she called.  
  
"I have the right to change my mind," a voice rasped back from inside the cloud of smoke.  
  
The crowd gasped again. Eyes watering, they squinted through the smoke and could barely make out two figures. Yes, both combatants were alive! Although the ring was just a crater full of rubble.  
  
The smoke dissipated completely. The Saiyans were clapping. The rest of the audience felt quite sheepish for being so scared when some people thought the whole thing was entertaining; they began to clap, too.   
  
'What kind of weirdo am I attracted to now?' Chi-Chi thought in dismay. 'Can´t I ever find a normal man?'  
  
Kakkarot and Vegeta were ignoring the crowd, staring each other down again. "Can we fly, Vegeta?"  
  
"I suppose at this point that hardly matters."  
  
"OK." Kakkarot burst up into the air, did a somersault, and hurtled back down straight at Vegeta. Vegeta leapt into the air at the last minute. Kakkarot followed. Then they were punching and kicking a dozen feet or so off the ground. The crowd gasped again.  
  
'Oh, what the heck,' Chi-Chi sighed to herself. 'Just go with it.'  
  
"This time, Kakkarot, I´m taking you down."  
  
Vegeta started firing rapid ki blasts at him. Kakkarot swerved through the air, avoiding them. Then Kakkarot rushed at Vegeta again, kicking him in the stomach. But Vegeta grabbed his leg as he pulled away, flipped him over, and double-handed him in the back.  
  
Kakkarot began to fall to the ground, but just before he reached it he righted himself. Vegeta, who had been following him down to hit him again, was taken by surprise. Kakkarot hit him with a small ki blast at point blank range. Vegeta fell over backwards and hit the ground outside of the ring.  
  
He growled as Kakkarot began to twirl around in the air. "I won!" Kakkarot shouted.  
  
"What a stupid rule," Vegeta complained. "In a real fight, we wouldn´t stop until one of us was unconscious."  
  
"Sorry," Kakkarot grinned, not sounding sorry at all.  
  
"I am going to beat you next time."  
  
"Score stands at 385-229."  
  
Vegeta scowled. "I am the strongest warrior in the universe. I will defeat you."  
  
Kakkarot smiled and half-bowed. "I have no doubt, Ouji-sama," he said seriously.  
  
Meanwhile, the shaken announcer got up from where he was hiding behind the bleachers to announce the winner. "And Kakkarot is our new champion! Um, could you come down?"  
  
'He certainly is strong,' Chi-Chi mused. 'Maybe there´s just something about that wrong kind of guy...'  
  
So after all the applause, as the audience was leaving, and the other Saiyans were trying to mollify Vegeta´s wounded pride, Chi-Chi and Kakkarot slipped off to one side.  
  
"Can I see you again?"  
  
"I suppose so."  
  
"I´ll be by tomorrow then! Where do you live?"  
  
Chi-Chi´s heart melted as he gave her that patented grin. She gave him directions. "Come by any time after two," she said. 


	3. 3

No Fight's Over Until I've Won-Ch 3  
By Elbereth in April  
  
With some guilt but no hesitation, Kakkarot snuck out of camp the following day and arrived at Chi-Chi's house about 2:30 PM. He scanned the area for ki signatures. They were still out in the middle of nowhere. Nobody was around for miles except the two of them.  
  
He started to knock on the door but then he heard singing around behind the house. He followed the sound. Chi-Chi was hanging up clothes to dry on a line strung between two trees.  
  
He walked up slowly, so as not to startle her. "Hey, Chi-Chi."  
  
She smiled to see him. "Hello."  
  
He helped her to finish with the clothes, although he didn't do a very good job. They talked the whole time, although Kakkarot was rather reticent about certain subjects. He talked a lot about martial arts, and food, and Vegeta, and asked the strangest questions about local animals, and plants, and customs.  
  
"Where are you from exactly?" she asked him as they walked along a stream.  
  
"Oh, um, originally? Somewhere far away. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"  
  
"Far away as in-not Japan?"  
  
"Much farther. Your parents are dead, you said?"  
  
"Yes, it's just me. How is it that you can fly?"  
  
"Practice. That's a pretty waterfall." They stopped and sat down at the edge of the swift stream, where it fell over gray rocks in a white froth.  
  
"You're very mysterious, aren't you?"  
  
"I'm just a person, Chi."  
  
She thought about this for a moment. Then she laid her head on his shoulder. Then she sighed. "Kakkarot. You have a tail and it's wrapped around my leg."  
  
"Um. Oops. Sorry."  
_________ ____________   
  
Vegeta and Thenore were cutting up a wild pig for supper. Every so often Thenore would sneak a glance over at Radditz, who was digging a hole. Every so often Radditz would look over at her. Vegeta smirked to himself. Interesting.  
  
As soon as they returned to Vegeta-sei, the Prince intended to find Kakkarot a nice Saiyan woman. This distraction he had with this Earth girl was disturbing. Kakkarot was his best friend; he deserved the best. That meant Saiyan.  
  
While he was at it, he'd better get a girl himself. If Radditz and Kakkarot both hooked up, he was going to start to feel rather jealous.  
____________ ____________  
  
Kakkarot, his face red, was now keeping his tail to himself. What an embarrassing accident!  
  
Chi-Chi seemed to be holding an internal debate. If she asked him about his tail, what would he say? If she freaked out completely and sent him away, what would he do?  
  
Finally she said, "Well." Kakkarot waited, but that was it. He smiled in relief.   
  
She put her head back on his shoulder. 'Yes!' he thought.  
  
After a little while, they awoke from their own little world when they started to feel wet. Looking around in surprise, they realized the wind had picked up and was blowing so hard the water from the falls was spraying over them.  
  
Chi-Chi jumped up. "Oh, my clothes!"  
  
They raced back to the house to find Chi-Chi's fears confirmed. Her laundry was whipping around on the line. A few shirts had blown off and were sticking in the bushes.  
  
Kakkarot went to rescue them as Chi-Chi ran over to the clothesline. Just as she reached it, a bedsheet pulled itself off and slapped her in the face. It wrapped itself around her and she fell over.  
  
Kakkarot forgot the shirts and ran back to rescue Chi-Chi. "Are you OK?" He pulled the sheet off.   
  
They looked at each other and both started laughing. Then they ran around gathering up the laundry. They took it inside to the living room to fold it.  
  
"Help me fold the sheets," Chi-Chi instructed. They both took hold of the corners and folded it up by walking forward til they met in the middle. Then they flipped it over.  
  
"This is harder than it looks," Kakkarot said, turning his side the wrong way round.  
  
Chi-Chi laughed at him. They folded and met again. They stood not three inches apart.  
  
'I must be completely crazy,' Chi-Chi thought, her heart pounding wildly. They stared into each other's eyes. But he didn't look odd (except for the tail), or evil (despite the light from the hands thing), or insane (except for calling that Vegeta person his best friend). He looked half-dazed, and vulnerable, and as if he very much wanted to kiss her.  
  
'Maybe it's pheromones. Well, whatever.' She leaned forward and kissed him-on the nose.  
  
He looked at her, bewildered. She laughed. "Finish the sheet." They folded it and placed it carefully on the couch.  
  
And then she threw herself into his arms and kissed him with abandon. On the lips.   
____________________  
  
A/N: More to come soon. But now I'm off to work on another story, which, frankly, has more reviews than this one. If you want me to devote myself to this story, please review! 


	4. 4

No Fight's Over Until I've Won--Ch 4  
By Elbereth in April  
  
  
A/N: People are reading this after all! I love all my reviewers! My inspiration to write has quadrupled! I have seen other authors reward their reviewers this way, so here! Have some cyber Oreos and milk, a Chi-Chi action figure with special frying pan action features, and another chapter!  
Oh, and um, sorry for the time elapse if you were expecting more after the kiss in the last chapter-but come on, people, they'd only known each other two days!   
_________ ________  
  
Kakkarot planned his sneaking out carefully. Quite a few times when everyone thought he was training or scouting alone he was with Chi-Chi. He'd spend a couple hours straight one day, maybe go over several times for half-an-hour another day. Sometimes she'd meet him in the meadow between his camp and her house.  
  
As long as he kept up with his daily chores and met to spar with Vegeta once a day, nobody cared where he disappeared to. Vegeta had decided nobody on Earth could be a threat to them, so the others would roam off sometimes as well.  
  
At any rate, nobody said anything. And except for an occasional moment of remorse over doing something he knew he wasn't supposed to be doing...well, he was too happy to care. He deliberately didn't let it worry him.  
  
And so Kakkarot, who normally couldn't lie to save his life, was in effect, lying all the time.  
  
However he was worried about Vegeta for an entirely different reason. It had been nearly nine months now since they'd landed on Earth, and still no word from the king. He knew Vegeta was brooding over it. Why wasn't the army ready yet? What if something had happened? What if Frieza had found out their trick and wiped everybody out?  
  
Vegeta would gather them all up as a group first thing in the morning and drill them in preparation for battling Frieza with the rest of the Saiyan army. Sometimes he'd give them little pep talks which (accidentally) mostly served to show how worried about his father he really was.  
  
Then Thenore would yell out, "We fight to win!" and the rest of them would cheer. And they'd all do their best to think of reassuring things to say.  
  
So when Kakkarot wasn't with Chi-Chi, he was usually hanging out with Vegeta, keeping half an eye on him. Well, he would have been hanging out with Vegeta anyway, but not watching him for signs of stress.  
  
Vegeta noticed after awhile. He found it kind of amusing. "I'm not weak, you know," he told Kakkarot.  
  
They were sitting by their lake, wringing water out of their hair and pants, 20 huge fish at their feet.  
  
"Aw, come on, Vegeta. I'm not implying you are. I just don't want you to be concerned over-well, the situation."  
  
Vegeta turned his attention to drying his feet enough to put his boots back on. "I'm not concerned. I know we'll win. We will destroy Frieza," he finished up vehemently.  
  
Kakkarot scuffed his bare toe in the dirt. "I'm worried," he muttered.  
  
Vegeta looked at him thoughtfully. Then he pulled the one boot he'd put on back off. Then he lunged at Kakkarot, picked him up, and threw him in the lake.  
  
Kakkarot came up spluttering to see Vegeta smirking. "Did that take your mind off it?"  
  
With a whoop, Kakkarot charged him. After they'd dunked each other a few times, they got down to serious sparring.  
  
  
Later that day, Kakkarot repeated the conversation for Chi-Chi (except for telling her why Vegeta was worried about his father).  
  
Chi-Chi shook her head. "Men just can't talk about their feelings, can they?"  
  
Kakkarot looked at her indignantly. "Sure we can!"  
  
Chi-Chi put her cards on the floor. She was teaching Kakkarot to play rummy. "Have you ever, even once, talked about your feelings?"  
  
"Well...no." He perked up. "We did say we were such good friends we should become blood brothers, though." He showed her the scar on his hand where they'd drawn the blood from.  
  
Chi-Chi thought about this. "I guess that's close. Maybe it's as close as boys can come."  
  
"I couldn't say anything mushy to Vegeta anyway." Kakkarot shuddered involuntarily. "He'd kill me."  
  
Chi-Chi laughed. "I can imagine. But who said you had to be mushy about it?"  
  
"Talk about feelings is always mushy. Well, unless you hate the other person."  
  
Chi-Chi laughed again. "Just draw a card, Kakkarot."  
________ ________  
  
It was about two days later when Radditz finally realized something was going on. He watched Kakkarot go off to "meditate" just a little too nonchalantly, and followed him. He saw him meet Chi-Chi in the meadow.   
  
He floated up above the trees and waited for Kakkarot to notice him. When Kakkarot did, he turned pale and told Chi-Chi, "I'm sorry, I can't stay today. I just wanted to see you."  
  
She frowned. "You'll at least kiss me goodbye, won't you?"  
  
He was in for it anyway. He kissed her softly.  
  
Radditz powered up. Chi-Chi finally noticed him, too. "Oh, there's your brother. I guess I better go."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"One of these days you really have to tell me how you guys can fly."  
  
"Yeah. Chi!" he kissed her again, then let her leave.  
  
When she was far enough away, Radditz joined him. "I thought Vegeta told you to stay away from that Earth girl, brother."  
  
"We were just..."  
  
"Oh, I know. Just like Thenore and I have been just...well."  
  
Kakkarot knew his face was red, and his tail was whipping angrily. "Would it be so bad if she and I--got together?"  
  
"What would you do?" Radditz scoffed. "Take her back to Vegeta-sei? What would the King have to say about that, do you think?"  
  
Kakkarot swallowed. "No. I'd stay here."  
  
Radditz's eyes went very wide. "You'd-on Earth-you can't!" he cried in real dismay. For a long moment they just stared at one another. Then Radditz straightened his shoulders. "Kakkarot. You have a duty to protect the Prince. We are the King's sworn men. You must uphold that duty."  
  
Kakkarot's face went still. Radditz had no idea what he was thinking, and since normally his brother's thoughts and emotions were plain for everyone to see, this was very disturbing.  
  
"As you say, brother," he said at last, with no inflection.  
  
Radditz shivered. He dared not tell Vegeta about this as long as Kakkarot was acting this way. He'd just have to keep an eye on both of them himself.  
  
Which he tried to do, but wasn't very successful at.  
__________________  
  
Kakkarot waited several days before he tried to see Chi-Chi again. Finally he saw his chance when Radditz was distracted by his own woman. He snuck out again.  
  
Not too much later, he and Chi-Chi were snuggled up on the couch, watching T.V. "What kind of strange show is this?"  
  
"It's a game show."  
  
"People get money by spinning that wheel?"  
  
"Yes. If they can guess the puzzle."  
  
Kakkarot scratched his head. "Huh."  
  
Chi-Chi began to giggle. "It is kind of funny when you think about it."  
  
Kakkarot grinned and pulled her even closer. But just then his stomach rumbled. Chi-Chi giggled more. "Are you hungry?"  
  
"I guess so!"  
  
She pulled him off the couch to the kitchen. "Well, come on. Let's see what I've got."  
  
Half the contents of the refrigerator later, Chi-Chi was staring at him across the table with her mouth open. 'OK, the tail I can handle, the lack of table manners I can correct over time, but how in the world could I ever keep him in groceries?'  
  
He paused in his eating suddenly, flustered. "Um, is something wrong?"  
  
In her shock, she replied with blunt honesty. "I've never seen anyone eat so much in my entire life."  
  
Oops. He'd made another cultural mistake. "Um...I've had a really strenuous day?"  
  
"Ever," she said.  
  
The grin again. "I just have a healthy appetite. You should see my brother. He eats twice as much as I do!"  
  
Her mind tried to grasp twice as much, and couldn't.  
  
He decided he'd better just finish what was on his plate and stop. He could eat more when he got back to camp.  
________ _________  
  
When Radditz couldn't find Kakkarot anywhere, he knew right away where he had to be. But he wasn't at that meadow.   
  
He thought for awhile and finally came to the decision he had to tell Vegeta after all. Vegeta was their Prince. He needed to know what was going on in his own camp. Their security could be an issue.  
  
"I think he's with that Earth girl," Radditz reported. "But I don't know where."  
  
Vegeta's expression was unreadable. "He'll turn up for supper. I'll deal with him then."  
  
But he didn't show up. Supper was over and the others were cleaning up, not suspecting anything wrong. Radditz was content to let Vegeta deal with the matter. "I'll be back," Vegeta said, and went off to look for his errant subject.  
  
Vegeta flew slowly, following Kakkarot's ki. He wasn't sure what he was going to do. He couldn't just go busting in if Kakkarot was with that girl. Well, actually he could, he was the Prince, and Kakkarot was disobeying a Royal command. Except he hadn't exactly commanded. He'd thrown in that comment saying Kakkarot could flirt. Maybe this was just...flirting. 'Yeah, that's why he didn't tell anyone where he was going-or even that he was leaving.' So if he broke the door down and ordered him to leave, Kakkarot would probably be very angry with him.  
  
OK then. He'd just check and see if that was really even where he was. He just had Radditz's opinion, after all. And his own very strong suspicion. Anyway, he'd just check, but if it was true, when Kakkarot finally wandered home, he would forbid him to ever see her again.  
  
Hn. How wise was that?  
  
Would he stay away or would it make him more determined to see her again? He remembered briefly dating a Saiyan girl his father deemed as unacceptable for a prince. The excitement of her being forbidden had just added to the thrill of it all. And he hadn't even been in love with her.  
  
Not that Kakkarot was in love. He was too smart for that. He wouldn't allow it to go too far. Would he?  
  
He landed on the lawn next to the house. He walked quietly over to a window and peeked in. Empty room. Next room. Empty. Next room...ah. There they were. Eating. He should have known.  
  
He was very careful not to be seen. They appeared to be enjoying each other's company, although the human seemed shocked about something. Probably Kakkarot's table manners.  
  
Well, suspicions confirmed. He should go back now. But he watched a little while longer, as Kakkarot finished eating and Chi-Chi put the tiny bit of leftovers away and the plates in the sink. As Kakkarot grinned at her and apparently offered to help with the dishes, as they then proceeded to do them. Domestic as any mated couple. Kakkarot scooped the clean bubbles off the water and deposited them on Chi-Chi's nose. She squealed and splashed water on him. A small water/bubble battle ensued.   
  
Reluctant realization hit Vegeta all at once. It had already gone too far. His blood brother was in love with the girl. 'I warned him!' Vegeta raged to himself. 'I expressly told him to leave Earthlings alone. If he disobeyed me and gave out his heart, it's not my fault. We'll go back home and Father will refuse to let him have any more to do with her. He'll just have to suffer the consequences.'  
  
But his head hurt, and his heart hurt, and he didn't want to see Kakkarot suffering. 'Freak it. What do I do now?'  
  
He couldn't watch any more. He went home.  
________ ________  
  
It was dark when Kakkarot snuck back in. He bypassed Radditz, who was walking around, securing the perimeter. He skirted past Nappa and Thenore, telling each other ghost stories by the fire. Vegeta was sparring with his shadow over by the tents.  
  
He wanted to go on by to his own tent. He tried to give his regular grin, but didn't quite manage it.   
  
"Stop. I know where you've been."  
  
The grin faded. They looked at each other.  
  
Vegeta looked up at the stars coming out. "Do you recognize any of them?" he asked.  
  
Kakkarot blinked. "No."  
  
"That's because they're not Saiyan stars." He looked back at Kakkarot.  
  
Kakkarot felt his face flush and then go pale.  
  
Vegeta crossed his arms and turned away. "Just be careful. Remember who you are." He went inside his tent.  
  
Kakkarot walked away blindly. 'So she's not Saiyan!' he raged to himself. 'That doesn't make her any less a person. Who said Saiyans are so much greater than everybody else? I won't stop seeing her. I won't!  
  
'I can't.  
  
'I couldn't stop now if I wanted to.'   
________ ________  
  
A couple more days went by. Vegeta didn't say anything else but Kakkarot knew what he was thinking. Radditz, too.  
  
Things between him and Vegeta felt strained and tense now. They tried to pretend nothing was wrong, but couldn't make it real.  
  
Kakkarot began to feel overwhelmed by the whole thing. Nothing would make him drop Chi-Chi. But it hurt so bad to have Vegeta mad at him.  
  
The two still had their daily spar. They both seemed to fight much harder now. Vegeta came to their fight that day with this look-as if he was determined to win it if he killed both of them doing it.  
  
They faced off, then both attacked at once. Vegeta never let up. Punch, kick, ki blast, turn, kick, ki blast, punch. Every time Kakkarot would try to fall away just to get his breath, Vegeta would get behind him and double-hand him in the back. The last time he followed it up by grabbing his leg, spinning him around, and letting go. He slammed into a tree, knocked it over, and slammed into another.  
  
Vegeta floated over and looked down at him. "You're not concentrating."  
  
Kakkarot slowly pulled himself to his feet, panting. "You've got extra energy because you're mad at me."  
  
Vegeta frowned and crossed his arms. "No, I'm not."  
  
Kakkarot felt his chest constrict, but not because he was having trouble getting his breath. "You are. Vegeta, I can't help it!"  
  
"I know. But I thought you were smarter than that. I thought you were more-Saiyan."  
  
Kakkarot clenched his fists. "What's so wrong with her?"  
  
Vegeta sighed. "She's probably wonderful. But she's not Saiyan. That's all that matters to my father."  
  
"Your father! But what do you think? Do you despise her?-And me?" He heard the slightest catch in his voice.  
  
Vegeta floated down and stood beside him. "No. If you truly think she's as good as a Saiyan girl-I'll believe you. But it doesn't matter what I think. Father is King. The King rules."  
  
They were interrupted by Thenore yelling Kakkarot's name. When they got over to her, they found Chi-Chi was with her.  
  
Kakkarot shot a panicked glance at Vegeta, who seemed unperturbed. "Tracked him down, did you?" he greeted her.  
  
Chi-Chi blushed, unsure of how he meant it. "Kakkarot told me how to find him." She looked at Kakkarot, who was nervously playing with his ripped shirt-sleeve.  
  
"What about security?" Thenore asked, shocked.  
  
Vegeta waved a hand. "She won't tell anyone where we are. Kakkarot." He looked at his friend meaningfully. "Why don't you go have a talk with her?"  
  
Break up with her was what he meant. It was as clear to Kakkarot as anything. He took her hand and led her away to the meadow.  
  
They didn't say much on the way there. When they got there, Kakkarot sat down and Chi-Chi stayed standing. She reached down and picked a daisy. "Kakkarot. What's going on?"  
  
"Um..."  
  
"Something's wrong." She stared him down until he was forced to meet her eyes. He bit his lip and nodded.  
  
"Your friends don't like me."  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"So how is that going to affect us? You and me? Do you like me, Kakkarot?" she demanded.  
  
"Why don't you sit down?"  
  
She did so, facing him. "Well? Can you bring yourself to talk about-feelings? Or do I have to torture this daisy?"  
  
His disturbed expression became more disturbed. "What?"  
  
"It's a kid's game. You pluck each petal. He loves me, he loves me not. And you see what the verdict is with the last petal." She raised up onto her knees and held the daisy in a threatening manner. "Well?"  
  
At that he had to laugh. "Come here, Chi." He pulled her down and into his lap.   
  
"Chi-chi, listen. I'm not-not very good with words," Kakkarot said slowly. "But I love you."  
  
She laughed, eyes sparkling. "That sounds poetic enough to me!"  
  
But he shook his head. "I can't promise you anything. My future is very uncertain and I have a lot of-other loyalties."  
  
She frowned. "What--?" but she was cut off by Kakkarot turning completely white, shoving her out of his lap, and jumping up. He was staring at the sky. "No! Oh no!"  
  
"Kakkarot..." she started again, but he was running.  
  
"Stay there, Chi-Chi!" he yelled. "Don't follow me!"  
  
And then he was flying-literally-away.  
  
Kakkarot was flying all out, panic choking him. He felt other ki's-dozens of other ki's, very powerful, all converging on their campsite.  
  
Not Saiyans. It had to be Frieza. And it could only mean they'd been found out, and Vegeta was in danger.   
____________________ 


	5. 5

No Fight's Over Until I've Won--Ch 5  
By Elbereth in April  
______________  
  
  
Vegeta and the others in the camp only felt the ki's approaching as they saw the ship coming down from the sky. About the only thing they had time to do was panic.  
Not that they showed it, of course. They closed up battle formations, Vegeta in the middle, and waited for what they knew was coming.  
  
The ship landed and men started pouring out, surrounding them in a circle. The Saiyans immediately took to the air, hovering above the henchmen as if taunting them.  
  
But then the Ginyu Force and Frieza exited the ship and they felt their hearts sink. They may have been able to take out the Ginyus (maybe not) but Frieza was another matter.  
  
The Ginyu Force essayed some classic poses, to everyone's chagrin. Frieza gave them a pained look, then floated his chair over in front of the Saiyans.  
  
"Ah, at last. Here we have the Real prince of the monkeys. It was very naughty of you to try to trick me. But now you'll have to suffer the consequences." He laughed. "Vegeta--you are now my slave!"  
  
The Ginyu Force sprang up at Vegeta, all five aiming for him alone. Meanwhile Frieza was holding off the others with weak ki blasts. That is, weak for him. He was toying with them, using just enough power to have them realize they were helpless before him, even when he was barely trying.  
  
Vegeta was trying to fight the Ginyus, but it was five against one. He grabbed Jeice by his long hair and used him as a battering ram, swatting Guldo to the ground. Then Jeice broke free and Captain Ginyu pinned Vegeta's arms behind his back. He still managed to kick Jeice in the stomach before Capt. Ginyu twisted his arms up so they felt like they were going to break off. Then he pulled his tail, hard. Vegeta yelled and tried to get away, but then Recoome shot a ki beam at him (singeing the Captain, who looked disgusted) and then Jeice was pounding him with his fists, annoyed for being used earlier.  
  
Recoome swooped back in and slammed his elbow into Vegeta's head and he lapsed into unconsciousness.   
  
"We got him Frieza!"  
  
"About time," Frieza replied. Capt. Ginyu slung Vegeta over his shoulder and they followed the henchmen back into the ship.  
  
The Saiyans made one last desperate rush at Frieza, who sent out a ki wave so strong they were all knocked to the ground, trees cracked and fell over, and the air was filled with dirt and rocks and bits of grass.  
  
The ship was flying away in a streak of light and the others were picking themselves up off the ground, coughing and swearing, when Kakkarot darted into the clearing. And then the ship was gone.   
  
"Vegeta!" He screamed it, but of course it did no good. His ki flared up higher than it had ever been. It took all three of them to hold him back.   
  
"We have to go after them! We have to get him back!" He struggled blindly as they held onto his arms and around his waist, refusing to let him go.  
  
"They're too strong!" Nappa yelled at him. "Frieza could kill us all!"  
  
"Then we die for our prince!"  
  
"Brother! Listen!" Radditz begged. "We will go after him. But...not now. We'll get the army and we'll go then. But we can't die now, for no reason. That won't save him. We have to wait until we can do him some good!"  
  
Kakkarot heard, and his mind understood, so his body stopped fighting them. But his heart did not understand. It felt as if someone was clenching his heart in their fist. He felt it throb through his whole body, sounding in his ears with a roar like a hollow drum. His whole body felt hollow. He turned from them, half-sobbing.  
  
It was his fault. Instead of being there, defending his prince, he was with--that Earth girl.  
  
His prince. His best friend. His blood brother.  
  
Somehow he was on his knees then, sobbing in earnest, so hard he was half-gagging.  
Radditz moved with him, keeping his arms around him.  
  
"What will Frieza do to him?" Thenore asked Nappa in a sick tone as she watched Radditz try to comfort Kakkarot.  
  
"I don't know." Nappa was shaking.  
  
Thenore briefly closed her eyes, then pushed all feeling aside for the moment. "Right. Nappa, we have to contact King Vegeta right away. We have to get the army and get after them."  
  
"Of course." Nappa, too, became all business, striding towards their ship. Thenore   
followed.  
  
Radditz watched them go. "Come on, brother, pull yourself together. We have to prepare ourselves for the rescue mission."  
  
That got Kakkarot's attention as nothing else would have. He finally choked down his tears, steeling himself for the job ahead of them.  
  
They would bring Vegeta back. He swore it.  
  
'And I cannot die. They are right. Not until Vegeta is free. After that, if Vegeta chooses to kill me for my failure to protect him, well. That would be within his rights.'  
______________________   
  
  
Vegeta woke up, feeling bruised and beaten all over, with the taste of blood in his mouth. His hands were chained above him, to the wall. His feet were chained, too. He tried to reach for his ki--and couldn't find it. He panicked. Where was it? What had happened?  
  
He opened his eyes and found himself looking right into Frieza's cruel face. Frieza was smiling, a sadistic, triumphant sort of smile.  
  
"Hello. Prince," he mocked him. He said the word as if he was inconsequential and disgusting, something stuck to the bottom of his shoe, perhaps. "Welcome to your new home. As my servant."  
  
The whole fight came flooding back to him then, and he felt sick with despair.  
  
"By now you'll have noticed that your powers are temporarily blocked by drugs. Not that you are a match for me, anyway. But this will give you a chance to...feel the helplessness of your situation." Frieza's smile grew even wider, and he backhanded the prince in the face.  
  
Vegeta's head rebounded off the wall, and his vision blurred for a moment. He tried not to show pain, or fear. He tried, but Frieza's eyes were half-closed, as if he were savoring the moment, and Vegeta knew he had failed at hiding all he was feeling.  
  
Frieza smiled happily. "Sometimes," he said, "life just gives you what you want," and proceeded to beat Vegeta bloody.  
________________________  
  
  
About an hour later, shortly before the Saiyans were packed and ready to leave, Chi-Chi showed up at their campsite.  
  
Kakkarot swallowed hard when he noticed her walking in. He had dreadfully wanted to see her again before they left, but hadn't been able to bring himself to go to her.  
  
Kakkarot felt the eyes of his brother on him as Chi-Chi came and stood before him. "Well? Are you going to explain?" she asked very quietly.  
  
Kakkarot would have felt better if she'd screamed it at him. "We're aliens."  
  
"OK. You can fly. You have tails. You can shoot balls of light from your hands. I can accept that."  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thenore come and take Radditz by the arm and lead him away. They were left in privacy, standing under the sparring tree.   
  
Kakkarot looked up at the weathered banner still fluttering there. "We fight to win," he mumbled.  
  
Chi-Chi followed his gaze. "No fight's over til I've won. I like that."  
  
Kakkarot felt the fear and pain he'd pushed partially aside in his concentration on packing all come back in full force. "Vegeta is our prince. He's just been kidnapped by a ruthless tyrant who wants to rule the universe."  
  
"That's...not good." Chi-Chi saw that words were not adequate. She reached to hug him.  
  
"No!" he cried, flinching and pulling away. "If I hadn't been with you, I'd have been here with him. Maybe I could have saved him!"  
  
Chi-Chi tried not to feel hurt. "Maybe they'd have killed you."  
  
"Maybe. Or maybe they'd have taken me, too. It doesn't matter. I should have been with him!"  
  
She could feel his power start to swirl around him. He seemed to be doing it unconsciously. Little rocks trembled at his feet. His tail was whipping around agitatedly.  
  
"Then go rescue him." It was a command. She was frowning, hands on hips. Stop whining and get to it, she seemed to be saying.  
  
He looked at her. Slowly, a semblance of calm settled back over him. "We're going to."  
  
"And will you bring him back here? Or will I never see you again?"  
  
He ran his hand over his eyes. "I don't know. We're Saiyans, Chi-Chi. We're a proud warrior race. And I'm pledged to the King. I don't know if he'll--allow me to--taint the line with--the blood of an alien."   
  
Well, Chi-Chi thought. That was blunt enough.  
  
"I see," she said. It was all she could say.  
  
There was a long, aching silence. "Then I'll let you get back to preparing to go," she said at last. "And wish you good luck."  
  
He nodded mutely.  
  
"What planet are you from?"  
  
"Vegeta-sei. We're Saiyans."  
  
Then before he could move she stepped up and hugged him tightly. "I will always love you," she whispered in his ear.   
  
He let out a small moan, eyes bright with unshed liquid tears. "I was never supposed to fall in love with you, Chi. But I did. I will always love you."  
  
And then she let go and walked out of the camp.  
  
For a brief moment he closed his eyes and felt the raw pain like a toothache in his heart. Then he shoved it aside and got back to packing.  
____________________  
  
  
When Vegeta was fully aware again, he was being pulled out of a rejuvenation tank by an ugly reptilian-looking man. "Feeling better, monkey?"  
  
Vegeta looked himself over. He appeared to be healed of his injuries.  
  
"Don't try any tricks now, monkey," the man said. "Just come with me."  
  
Vegeta followed him, scowling. Being called monkey was going to get old very fast.   
  
The being led him to a small, white room that contained a bed, a chair, a bathroom, and nothing else. "This is your cell. Enjoy it, monkey." He waved at Vegeta to enter.  
  
Vegeta's hand snaked out and grabbed the unsuspecting reptile by the front of his shirt. "You call me monkey again and I'll kill you."  
  
The reptile sputtered a bit, as Vegeta held up his other hand, a glowing ball of ki on his palm. Vegeta lifted him into the air. "Understand?"  
  
He nodded. Vegeta smirked and dropped him. "I'm telling Frieza!"  
  
Sighing, Vegeta entered the room and the man closed and locked the door behind him. Vegeta didn't feel as if he'd won when he heard the lock click.   
  
The next morning he got up early and trained. He was nearly done when his door opened. A pretty man with green braided hair and a pink man with a nasty grin stood there.  
  
"Frieza wants you. Your servitude starts today," the pink one said. 


	6. 6

No Fight's Over Until I've Won-Ch 6  
By Elbereth in April  
  
The next morning Vegeta got up early and trained. He was nearly done when his door opened. A pretty man with green braided hair and a pink man with a nasty grin stood there.  
  
"Frieza wants you. Your servitude starts today," the pink one said.  
  
They led him back to Frieza's control room. Frieza was sitting on his throne, looking out the window at an orange planet nestled amongst the stars. He turned and smiled at them as they came in.  
  
"So, Vegeta. Have you enjoyed your stay here so far?"  
  
So many emotions were rolling through Vegeta he wasn't sure he could speak rationally. He wanted to kill this monster so badly-and just wasn't strong enough. He'd discovered that right away. There was nothing he could do but stand there, helpless and humiliated, hating Frieza with his whole soul.  
  
Finally he swallowed and nodded.  
  
"Good, good. Don't expect to just stand around and do nothing, though. You have to pay for your room and board, you know."  
  
He tried to keep his teeth from clenching and his tail from whipping around angrily. It wouldn't be a good idea to let his hatred show too much.  
  
Especially as Frieza was clearly finding him amusing.  
  
"Today I shall give you your first job as my servant," Frieza continued. "Look out the window."  
  
Involuntarily, Vegeta did so. "That is the planet Ormel. I have a client who is interested in buying it, but first he would like to see all life removed from it. So. You are going to purge it for me."  
  
Vegeta's breath caught in his throat. It was true, then, what they said about Frieza's planet trade. Frieza had hinted as much to his father, but the King had deliberately not asked. He had not wanted to join Frieza's army of terror and destruction. He had agreed to accept Frieza as overlord in return for Frieza sparing their planet. Vegeta was supposed to be given to Frieza to seal the deal. That was all.  
  
Vegeta wondered how Frieza had found him and what had happened to his double. He didn't dare ask. He would deal with one thing at a time, and this one was bad enough.  
  
"You want me to murder everybody on the planet for you?" he repeated, managing to keep all emotion out of his voice.  
  
"Yes."   
  
His father wouldn't have a problem with this. You did what you had to in order to insure the Royal line survived. And his subjects wouldn't have a problem with it. They were fierce warriors, and had done something of the same themselves, in the first days of their race.   
  
No, only one person he could think of would be upset over this. 'The naïve fool.' But Vegeta felt the knowledge sear through his heart that he could not go back and tell his blood brother he'd done this.  
  
Hn. He took a deep breath, and projected as much calm arrogance as he ever had in his life. Then he turned slowly around and caught Frieza's eye. "No," he said, smirking. "I don't think so."  
  
Frieza stared back at him. "What?"  
  
"I'm not your slave. I'm not purging any stupid planet for you. I am the Prince of all Saiyans and-well, I don't do that," he finished a little lamely, starting to sweat under Frieza's gaze. He'd expected the monster to be mad enough to torture him, or kill him, but not to be quite that insanely furious.  
  
"Oh really," Frieza hissed, moving forward until they were inches apart. But Frieza knew that physical pain wasn't going to make Vegeta back down. He knew the Prince was prepared to die over this.  
  
But there were other kinds of pain. Frieza smiled. "Then, perhaps, we'll pick a different planet to purge, eh? How about Vegeta-sei?"  
  
'Oh no. How could I be so stupid?' They weren't ready to fight Frieza yet. If they were, they'd have been recalled from Earth by now. "No. I'm sorry. I'll do it."   
  
"Oh, you'll do it, all right." Frieza slowly reached out with his tail and wrapped it around Vegeta's neck. "But I think I'll destroy your planet anyway, little monkey. Insubordination can not be tolerated."   
  
He squeezed his tail tighter. Vegeta gasped and threw his hands up to try and pry it off his neck. But Frieza kept squeezing until Vegeta passed out from lack of air. Then he kicked him while he lay on the ground, just to relieve some of his feelings.   
  
"Take him and lock him up again," Frieza ordered Zarbon and Dodoria. Then he smiled in gleeful anticipation. "I was planning on destroying those apes anyway for the trick they tried to pull on me. Let's go!"   
_____________________  
  
  
Kakkarot and the other Saiyans were ushered into King Vegeta's throne room as soon as they arrived on Vegeta-sei. Once in the king's presence, they immediately knelt.  
  
King Vegeta looked at them with a sinking feeling. "Where is my son? What has happened?"  
  
"Frieza has taken him," Nappa reported.  
  
"We have to go after him! Is the army ready?" Thenore asked.  
  
King Vegeta took a deep breath. Though pale, he remained calm. "Close enough. We planned to attack in three more months. No one has managed to become a Super Saiyan, but with our constant training in 300 times gravity, our strength has increased enormously. And you are right. We must go after my son. Bardock."  
  
"Yes, Your Majesty?"  
  
"Gather the troops outside the palace. I'll be there to inspect them in ten minutes." He turned back to the still-kneeling Saiyans. "And you!" None of them could meet his eyes. His voice softened fractionally. "You couldn't have stopped Frieza alone. Don't blame yourselves. Go put on armor and join the front ranks of the army."  
  
"Hai." They saluted and left.   
_________________ _________________  
  
  
When Vegeta regained consciousness, back in the cell, he barely noticed the pain in his neck and throat and stomach. His mind was too busy with fear, guilt, and desperation.  
  
"I have to stop him! This is all my fault! What can I do?" He felt sick and insignificant. He couldn't do much. That was the whole point. He wasn't strong enough. He was worthless.  
  
'No.' His hands clenched into fists. 'There has to be something I can do. There has to be.'  
__________________  
  
  
The army stood in a wide open space just outside the walls of the fortress. Bardock, Kakkarot, and the others were in the front row. They stood, waiting quietly for orders as the King surveyed them.   
  
"You are all warriors," he said to them. "I have faith in you. The Prince will be set free. The reign of this tyrant Frieza shall be ended. His day has come. Saiyan might will prevail. Let there be no doubt."  
  
In the silence, pride and determination began to fill their hearts. Then Thenore let out a yell, encouraging them just as she'd encouraged them so many times on Earth. "We fight to win!"  
  
Recognizing the words of the banner in the Royal practice room, many of the Saiyans grinned, then cheered.  
  
Radditz smiled at Thenore with great affection, slightly giddy with the upcoming battle and his new feelings towards the girl.  
  
She gave him a fierce smile back.  
  
King Vegeta was also smiling-that typical Saiyan smirk. "That's right. We will win-however we have to do it."  
  
"Should we board the ships, my lord?" a warrior asked.  
  
"No need. They are coming to meet us."  
  
They all looked up at the sky, where several bright points of light were approaching the planet.  
  
"Be ready."  
  
They had to be.  
______________ ____________________  
  
  
Vegeta felt the ship land. He paced the room, fists clenching and unclenching. He was so tight with tension he thought he might throw up. Every muscle in his body was tense. He tried to relax them so he'd be ready to fight.  
  
By now Frieza and his warriors would be leaving the ship to fight his people. Would they be ready for him? Had they sensed he was coming? What was the status of their army? What was Frieza planning?  
  
He felt ki's powering up, hundreds of them. That had to be the army! They were gong into battle. They had to win!  
  
He tried blasting his prison door again, then the walls, one by one, then the ceiling, then the floor. He growled in frustration. He had to get out of here and help them! What was this room made of, anyway?  
  
He thought again, and then concentrated all his energy on the lock. After a few minutes, it melted. Vegeta grinned and kicked the door open.  
  
He made his way through the fighting warriors, dodging a blast here, fighting a man there, searching for Frieza and his father.  
  
There. At last.  
  
The King of the Saiyans wasn't alone. He was flanked by his elite guard-including Nappa-and his advisor Bardock. And Bardock was surrounded by his two sons and Thenore.   
  
Frieza wasn't fighting himself. He was hovering above them, watching the scene. Zarbon was at his side. The King was fighting Captain Ginyu, Nappa-Recoombe, Radditz-Guldo, Bardock-Dodoria, Kakkarot-Jeice, Thenore-Burter.   
  
Kakkarot saw Vegeta first and called his name without even thinking about it. "Vegeta!"  
  
Zarbon saw him next, and charged towards him, an expression of anger on his face. Vegeta had time for a quick glance at Frieza to see an identical expression of surprise and anger. Then Zarbon was on him.  
  
"You're no match for me, monkey!" he yelled.  
  
All of a sudden all of Vegeta's many emotions gave way to pure rage. "That's it! I've had it with you people all calling me monkey!"  
  
Vegeta held out his hand, palm forward, and blasted. Zarbon dodged, but without room to spare.   
"You're much stronger than I expected," Zarbon frowned.  
  
'Frieza shouldn't have almost killed me. Battle makes a Saiyan stronger,' Vegeta thought gleefully.  
  
"That's because you've got me one-on-one in an honorable fight, you baka. You're no match for me now!"  
  
"Poor little Vegeta. Haven't you learned by now there's no such thing as an honorable fight?"  
  
They were trading blows, fast, faster. Vegeta leveled another ki bolt at him. Zarbon didn't manage to dodge this one. He was knocked back several feet.  
He shook his head to clear it. "You can't be stronger than me!"  
  
Vegeta smirked. "I am a Prince. You're just Frieza's errand boy."  
  
"Why you!" Zarbon charged for him. Vegeta kicked him in the chest and the side of the head. Zarbon fell to his knees. "You asked for it!"  
  
Suddenly he flared his ki up and transformed into a--well, an ugly blue reptile-looking creature.  
  
"And I thought you were ugly before!"  
  
Zarbon howled again and rushed Vegeta, who sidestepped and punched Zarbon in the kidneys. Vegeta laughed as Zarbon stumbled around.   
"It's time to send you to another dimension!" He held his hand out, palm up. He raised two fingers and the resultant blast killed Zarbon instantly.   
  
Vegeta looked around. Kakkarot and King Vegeta had dispatched their opponents already. Captain Ginyu had tried to swap bodies but the King was too quick for him. Radditz had had a bit of difficulty with Guldo's time-freeze technique, but when Ginyu died, Guldo was distracted long enough for Radditz to take him down.  
  
Thenore and Nappa were finishing off their opponents even as he watched. He smirked. Training in 300 times gravity really worked.  
  
As the last of the Ginyu Force fell, Frieza blinked in disbelief. Apparently his elite fighting force had been slacking off. How else could they have been defeated by this pack of losers?  
  
The Saiyans were grinning at each other. "Fools!" Frieza yelled at them. "Your power level is laughable compared to mine. You think you're so mighty now? I am going to vaporize your whole planet. I am going to grind all of you into the dust. And I am going to enjoy it! You're a worthless species. You disgust me. I will cleanse the universe of every last one of you!"   
  
As Frieza spoke, Kakkarot felt his face flush. How dare he? That tyrant had killed hundreds of people, and kidnapped Vegeta, and now he threatened to destroy all of Vegeta-sei. He had to be stopped. For a moment that was all that filled his mind.   
"Frieza!" He started to charge for him.  
  
Vegeta was no less upset than Kakkarot, but he had been up against Frieza's power first hand. Kakkarot was good, but he didn't stand a chance against Frieza. He knew it instinctively.   
"No! He'll kill you!" Vegeta cried, grabbing for his arm. He missed, but caught him by the tail. "Stop!"  
  
Frieza sneered at them, but then King Vegeta flew up to face him. Kakkarot stopped struggling. It was the King's right to avenge his people. It was his fight now.  
  
For a moment they faced each other down. Then the King yelled, "Today you die, Frieza!"  
  
The other warriors had to step back to give them room. Their auras alone were so strong the sky had gone dark and wind was whipping through the Saiyans' hair.  
  
"You arrogant Saiyans!" Frieza laughed. "You don't seem to realize how much stronger I am than any of you."  
  
His tail whipped around to strike the King. He zipped out of the way, avoiding Frieza's fists as well.  
  
Frieza was fast, though. None of them had ever seen anyone move that fast.  
  
King Vegeta tried to land a blow, but couldn't. He fired blast after blast but nothing landed.  
  
Frieza kept laughing. "Pathetic. Just like I've always said. Saiyans are just a bunch of weak, stupid monkeys."  
  
Enraged, King Vegeta attacked again. He drew back his arms and then released a powerful ki wave. Frieza let it hit him, still laughing, but then his eyes went wide in surprise. This blast was much stronger than he had expected.  
  
Quickly, he released a blast of his own. For a moment the balance swayed back and forth, then the blast shot back towards Frieza. He gasped in shock and ducked.  
  
"You will die, Frieza!" the king shouted, and charged once again, striking Frieza on the nose. Frieza knocked him away with his tail and felt his nose. It was bleeding.  
  
"My beautiful face! That does it! I've tried to be reasonable, but for that you will pay." And Frieza began to power up even more. "I'm going to show you something few people have seen. Although I almost feel it's a waste of my energy, I will transform for you. Watch and cower before me, monkey. My power is beyond anything you can imagine. I am invincible!"  
  
As the Saiyans watched in horror, Frieza's power level skyrocketed and Frieza transformed. He became taller, more muscled, and looked much more intimidating.  
  
"We may be in trouble," Radditz whispered.  
  
Frieza snapped his tail on the ground, which shook violently. Quakes spread over the area, chasms opening in the ground.  
  
"Big trouble," Nappa whispered back.  
  
King Vegeta's expression hardened. "You are not undefeatable, Frieza. Today will prove that."  
  
"I'm sure," Frieza grinned. Then he released a huge ball of energy directly at the King.  
  
It was too big to maneuver around. The blast hit the King head on. For a moment he fought against it, but it was too strong. His lifeless body fell to the ground.  
  
Kakkarot shouted in horror. Then...  
  
There was silence.  
  
Frieza laughed. "What about you, Prince?" But Vegeta didn't hear him. He was still staring at his father's crumpled body, in shock.  
  
Frieza pouted at being ignored. "Oh well, if that's not enough, what if I kill this one, whose life you value so much you stopped him from fighting me?"  
  
Vegeta blinked and whipped around. "What?"  
  
But Frieza had already moved, faster than some could even see. He had grabbed Kakkarot by the shoulder hard enough to crack the bone.  
  
"No!"  
  
Then Frieza kicked Kakkarot in the face, stunning him long enough to throw him over his shoulder. Then he took to the air, flying back to his ship.  
  
  
  
(A/N: OK, I know that went kind of fast, but I wanted to get to the battle.) 


	7. 7

No Fight's Over Until I've Won-Ch 7 By Elbereth in April  
  
"Stop him!" Vegeta yelled, and he and the others set out after him. Two- thirds of the way there, half a dozen lizard men intercepted them.  
  
"Keep going, Vegeta," Nappa called. "We'll get rid of them and come join you."  
  
Vegeta veered off as the others attacked the reptiles head on. By the time Vegeta made it to the ship, Frieza and his captive were nowhere in sight. But he had a pretty good idea where to find them.  
  
He sped down the halls, praying that Frieza was arrogant enough that he would wait to kill Kakkarot until he had joined them. Frieza liked to see his enemy's face when he tortured them, after all.  
  
Yes, there they were. Back in the room he had woken up in. Kakkarot was chained to the wall and drugged, just as he had been. Frieza was waiting for him, facing the door, eyes alight with anticipation. There were four other henchmen in the room, lined up against the far wall.  
  
"Ah, there you are, Vegeta," Frieza said.  
  
Vegeta didn't waste time on words. He powered up, staring at Frieza with pure hatred, trying to control his rage and fear enough to be able to fight.  
  
"I don't know why you're even bothering with this charade. You can't beat me and you know it. Monkey."  
  
Rage won out. Vegeta attacked. He aimed a punch at Frieza's face and one at his stomach. Both were blocked. Then Frieza's fist smashed into his face. He reeled, and tried to kick Frieza. Blocked. Then he spat in Frieza's face.  
  
"Why you. . . "  
  
While Frieza was distracted he kneed him in the stomach, then brought his hands slamming down into his back, then kicked him in the face.  
  
Frieza rebounded off the wall, enraged. He slammed into Vegeta and grabbed him around the chest, pinning his arms and squeezing. Vegeta saw black and red spots but then he broke free. He shook his head to clear it.  
  
Frieza was floating in front of him, grinning at him. Then his tail whipped around and smashed into his face again.  
  
Vegeta picked himself up off the floor and looked up at Frieza. He was just waiting on him. 'He's playing with me. I can't touch him and he's just playing.'  
  
Vegeta growled, then forced himself to focus. "Frieza. . ." He shot several ki blasts at him. Frieza dodged.  
  
Kakkarot watched, helpless. He couldn't even reach his ki, because of the drug. Vegeta had to win. He just had to. Other than that first glance, where Vegeta had assessed him to make sure he wasn't too damaged, Vegeta had ignored him, concentrating on fighting Frieza. But Kakkarot wished now that he dared to speak to him. If his blood brother died before he could apologize and tell him how much he meant to him. . .but he didn't dare disturb Vegeta from the fight.  
  
Meanwhile Frieza was laughing again. Vegeta had risen back up in the air to meet him.  
  
"And you call yourself a prince. You know very well that I am your master in every way!"  
  
Frieza threw himself at Vegeta head-first. Vegeta jerked back. Instead of being completely pierced by one of Frieza's horns, he just received a glancing scratch across his ribs. He recovered from that quickly enough that he landed a kick to Frieza's side and double-handed blow to his back.  
  
Frieza fell back a bit. Vegeta fired blast after blast at him to no real effect. By now the ceiling was gone and there were holes in the walls. Frieza's henchmen were cowering on the floor.  
  
Vegeta flew up above Frieza and let loose a huge energy ball. Frieza batted it away. It receded through the sky like a comet.  
  
Vegeta turned pale. He running out of energy. He already felt wiped out. And Frieza had just swatted away a blast he'd put all his strength into, as if it was nothing.  
  
Frieza streaked up towards Vegeta. He fired lasers from his eyes, striking Vegeta in the chest. Vegeta fell. Frieza followed him down, punching him from left to right. He kicked the prince back up into the air, hit him around a few more times, then grabbed hold of him and rocketed down to the earth with him. Vegeta couldn't break free. Just before impact, Frieza let go, and floated back up. As Vegeta hit the ground, Frieza hit him with a ki blast.  
  
The light of the blast filled the room. When the smoke cleared, Vegeta was lying in a deep crater, battered and bloody.  
  
"Vegeta!" Kakkarot yelled, unable to help himself.  
  
Through the ringing in his ears, Vegeta heard Kakkarot's voice. After a brief moment of nothing but pain, he rolled over off his back, trying to get up from the floor. Dizziness washed over him. His arms gave out as he tried to push himself up.  
  
'I can't let Frieza kill him. I can't let Frieza kill him. Like he killed my father. . .' But it hurt so much just laying there. . . Frieza was so strong. 'I can't let Frieza kill him like he killed my father. . .' Frieza was so much stronger. 'I can't let Frieza kill. . .  
  
'He killed my father.' Vegeta felt the rage and grief build and build inside him. 'He's going to kill my blood brother.  
  
'He killed my father.  
  
'He's going to kill Kakkarot.'  
  
He screamed. Tears were streaming down his face unheeded. He knew several of his ribs were broken, and blood was pouring out of his mouth and nose. The place where he'd been cut by Frieza's horns felt like it was on fire. But he had to stop Frieza. He pushed himself to his hands and knees, and screamed again as the power built up inside him along with the anguish, the righteous fury, and the determination.  
  
Frieza looked over at him, savoring Vegeta's pain, grinning. Then his eyes widened in shock as he watched Vegeta's hair turn gold and his eyes turn teal. The scouter on Frieza's face shattered as Vegeta's power exploded. Frieza's four men died and the whole of Frieza's ship was blown apart as a golden aura of light surrounded Vegeta. He climbed to his feet.  
  
Vegeta met Frieza's eyes. "No fight's over til I've won," he said, and launched himself at Frieza.  
  
Vegeta's fist smashed into Frieza's face before Frieza had a chance to recover from his surprise. Then they were down to serious, punishing fighting. But there was never any doubt in Vegeta's mind that he would win. Not now. Now that he was the legendary Super Saiyan.  
  
He found himself grinning. "Final Flash!"  
  
Even when Frieza transformed again. Vegeta's ki blast ripped right through him. "Big Bang Attack!" he shouted. And a little later on, "Gallic Gun!"  
  
And when Frieza was trying to stay on his feet and find enough strength to transform a third time, Vegeta actually laughed.  
  
"And this. This is a little something I learned from Kakkarot.  
  
"Kame. . .  
  
"hame. . .  
  
"ha!"  
  
He released a blast of energy from his cupped hands that was strong enough to light up the sky for miles, to scatter into particles Frieza's remaining henchmen, and to utterly destroy Frieza.  
  
When the smoke cleared, he stood there, glowing, swaying and panting and feeling his injuries, but triumphant.  
  
Kakkarot's chains had been burned away but he had survived the side-effects of their fight. He was, after all, Saiyan. They looked at each other, and then Kakkarot knelt. "King Vegeta."  
  
But Vegeta let out a cry and pulled him back on his feet. "Don't do that!" Then they both grinned and hugged briefly.  
  
"You did it!" Kakkarot shouted. "I can't believe it!" Then he grinned wider. "I'm going to learn how to do that someday."  
  
Vegeta smirked, then smiled. "I have no doubt."  
  
Then suddenly Kakkarot's grin disappeared and the light faded from his eyes. Vegeta stared at him in confusion as he started babbling.  
  
"It's my fault. I should have been there when Frieza kidnapped you. I should have been there. But I was- -I was. . ." So much guilt was flooding through him that he couldn't finish. Vegeta would hate him forever.  
  
"You were with the woman. Chi-Chi."  
  
Kakkarot couldn't meet Vegeta's eyes. "Yes," he whispered.  
  
Vegeta hit him on the shoulder, lightly. "It's not like you would have been able to stop it."  
  
"I disobeyed your order!"  
  
Vegeta couldn't feel the usual annoyance about this. He shrugged. "Yeah, well. I wouldn't have listened to me either, in this case."  
  
At this, Kakkarot looked at him. "I should have been with you! You're my best friend!"  
  
"You were going to come rescue me, yes?"  
  
"Of course!" Tears were brimming in Kakkarot's eyes.  
  
Vegeta's ribs were hurting, and he still felt dizzy. His father was dead and he didn't want to deal with this. "Kakkarot." He sighed. Then he smirked, marveling at his own brilliance. "I'll forgive you on one condition. That you make it up to me."  
  
Stunned by gratitude, for a moment Frieza could only stare. "Anything!"  
  
"Very well. You can prove your constant reliability and devotion by accepting the post of my Second Advisor, to train to become my First Advisor when Bardock retires."  
  
Kakkarot gaped at him. Vegeta smiled wider. "I think I'll make Thenore my Third Advisor," he mused.  
  
Kakkarot finally smiled back in wonder. "Vegeta, are you serious?"  
  
"Kakkarot. Need you ask?"  
  
"I never thought you'd forgive me."  
  
"We are blood brothers, are we not? Of course I forgive you."  
  
Kakkarot sniffed, wiped his eyes, then grabbed Vegeta and hugged him again.  
  
"All right, all right!" Vegeta pushed him away, but he was still smiling. "Don't get all mushy." ____________ ______________  
  
The crowning ceremony was splendid and very formal. The funeral was simple and wild. Saiyans believed that a warrior who died fighting went to their ultimate reward. Some other, exciting dimension where they could spar and win forever.  
  
The private party in Vegeta's council room afterward was full of reflection, sympathy, laughter, and celebration. After all, it wasn't every day someone turned Super Saiyan. Not in thousands of years had such an event occurred. Everyone was excited, cheering Vegeta's name.  
  
And after that, Vegeta took his best friend aside and said quietly, "Look, Kakkarot, if you really love that Earth girl, ask her to come live here."  
  
Kakkarot stared at him, honestly overcome. "But- -I thought- -you said. . ."  
  
Vegeta looked at the ceiling, his fingers playing with the hem of his coronation robe. "Yeah. Well. I changed my mind. I don't have the same opinions as my father. I never did. Saiyan strength will overcome any alien blood. A little inter-alien mingling won't hurt."  
  
Kakkarot just looked dizzy and in shock. "But. . ."  
  
"I was trying to protect you! I knew my father would never allow you to have a relationship with her. I didn't want you to fall in love with her and then get your heart broken. That's all." Vegeta looked uncomfortable at being forced to make this explanation.  
  
"Really?" Vegeta had just been looking for him?  
  
Vegeta sighed at Kakkarot's dazed look. Then he crossed his arms. "Mate with her, Kakkarot, and bring her here. That's a Royal command."  
  
Kakkarot felt overwhelming joy fill him. His eyes shone with it. "Thank you. I- -thank you."  
  
Then Vegeta smirked a bit. "Yeah, yeah."  
  
___________ _______________  
  
A/N: One more chapter to go! Please review. 


	8. 8

No Fight's Over Until I've Won-Ch 8 By Elbereth in April  
  
Kakkarot spent the journey back to Earth happy and excited. But when he was outside Chi-Chi's door, he just felt fear. She had said she would always love him. But had she meant it? What if she'd changed her mind? He had left her, after all, and called her an alien. What would she say to him?  
  
What if she refused him?  
  
He knocked with a slightly trembling hand; she opened the door. For a moment they just stared at each other, both of them breathing funny, with butterfly stomachs. Then Chi-Chi squealed and threw herself into his arms.  
  
Kakkarot laughed. Nothing had ever felt so good as her in his arms, knowing she was glad to see him. "Chi-Chi," he whispered.  
  
When they finally pulled back to look at each other, he had to swallow a few times before he could speak. "Chi. We won. Vegeta's OK- -he killed Frieza. The tyrant I told you about. He's King now. His father died"- -a frown at this, but he quickly cheered back up- -"and Vegeta doesn't care if you're human."  
  
Chi-Chi watched his happy face, her eyes bright. She was listening hard. "And so?"  
  
His expression turned serious and gentle. "I love you, Chi-Chi. Just like I said before. I'll love you forever. Do you- -do you still. . . ?"  
  
She smiled, and kissed him. "I love you," she breathed softly against his lips.  
  
He laughed again. "Then. . .I'm asking you to be my mate, Chi. Come to Vegeta-sei with me. Please."  
  
Chi-Chi's eyes got huge. He held his breath. She wasn't answering. His smile faded. She still wasn't answering. That couldn't be good. His head began to pound.  
  
"You want me to go live on some strange planet? And be the only. . .alien? A place I can't even imagine, a culture I don't know, people who won't welcome me. . ."  
  
When she put it that way. . .it didn't sound good, when she put it that way. But he didn't know if he could live without her, now.  
  
"I would stay here, Chi-Chi. I would. I even told Radditz I wanted to. But Vegeta needs me. I'm his Second Advisor. I have to go back." He looked at her in misery. "If- -if you truly don't want to come . . .oh, Chi, what would I do without you?"  
  
Then suddenly all the fear left her face and was replaced by love and determination. "I'm a fighter," she reminded them both. "I can be brave. I can face challenges. I'm sure that in time I would come to be at home there."  
  
"I'll help you, Chi. And you already have friends there- -Vegeta and Nappa, Radditz and Thenore, and me, and my father will love you. . .and I'll explain all about the culture and the planet and. . ."  
  
She smiled, stopping him. "It's all right. I'll go. Because I really do want to- -be your mate, Kakkarot."  
  
Relief flooded through him. "I know what else. You could bring a friend from Earth."  
  
Then Chi-Chi looked completely happy. Kakkarot rejoiced; he would not have been able to be happy if she was not.  
  
"That would be perfect! My best friend's parents died recently, and even though she's very rich and owns her own company, she's miserable and tired of her life. She'd love to go explore a new world, full of new technology- -she's a scientific genius. She'd see all sorts of exciting possibilities."  
  
"Maybe she could become a Royal scientist and make things for Vegeta. What's her name?"  
  
"Bulma."  
  
"Great!"  
  
Then they both felt slightly giddy. They were looking deep into each other's eyes. They leaned forward simultaneously and kissed passionately.  
  
____________ ______________  
  
"We're ten minutes away," Kakkarot said into the radio from the cockpit of his spacepod. Chi-Chi sat beside him, and Bulma behind.  
  
"Good. Hurry up, I haven't had a good spar since you left," Vegeta's voice replied.  
  
Kakkarot grinned. "OK."  
  
_______________ _________  
  
When the girls followed Kakkarot out of the spacepod, they saw Vegeta waiting, arms crossed, eyebrows raised. "What is this, Kakkarot? You brought a spare?"  
  
Kakkarot and Chi-Chi just laughed- -she'd gotten used to him- -but Bulma bristled immediately. "Now see here, mister, I'm nobody's spare! What did you mean by that?"  
  
Vegeta smirked. He did love a good fight. "I think you know exactly what I meant, Earthling."  
  
"Why you- -see here, I happen to be worth as much as any Saiyan, so don't go acting all superior on me. I won't take that from you, King or not!"  
  
"Oh no? Are you challenging me?"  
  
Underneath her anger, Bulma was enjoying herself as well This alien was cute. "You'd better believe I am!"  
  
"Well, if it's a fight you want, that's what you'll get it. But I warn you, woman, I fight to win!"  
  
"Oh yeah? Well, no fight's over until I've won!"  
  
There was a moment of shocked but respectful silence. "Bulma," said Kakkarot, "you're going to fit right in."  
  
Vegeta was just staring at the blue-haired girl in wonder and awe. Kakkarot and Chi-Chi's eyes met in amusement. "I think life here is going to be very interesting indeed," Chi-Chi said.  
  
______________ ___________________  
  
A/N: OK, last chapter turned out kind of short, but maybe I will write a sequel, after I finish "The Deception." What do you think?  
  
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Read & Review my other stories!  
  
Read "Gradual Love" by Leia. It's about Goku & Chi-Chi falling in love and very good. 


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